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Ancient City Ruby conference highlights First Coast tech scene

Computer-programming and code-writing seminars have traditionally happened on the West Coast. A conference taking place over the next two days, though, will for the first time shine a technology light on the First Coast.

The Ancient City Ruby event is drawing about 300 top computer programmers from all over the world to St. Augustine Thursday and Friday. About a dozen speakers from the West Coast technology scene as well as experts from Europe will share ideas for coding the program known as “Ruby” and its website development format known as “Ruby on Rails.”

The program itself was developed about 20 years ago, but its offshoot Ruby on Rails has risen to prominence in the past decade and is used as a tool in developing such high-profile Internet sites such as Twitter, Hulu and Groupon.

The fact that the conference is even being held on the First Coast speaks to the growing community of technology development with business such as web.com headquartered in Jacksonville and other startup technology companies emerging here, said Xenia Mountrouidou, an assistant professor of computer science at Jacksonville University.

“We need more of these here in Florida and Jacksonville,” Mountrouidou said. “Most of these happen in California. But bringing these to the East Coast is a great way of spreading the information and knowledge. It’s good for the industry that’s developing in Jacksonville and the area.”

The conference is being organized by a Jacksonville Beach computer development firm called Hashrocket. The firm develops about 80 to 90 percent of its website work on Ruby on Rails, the toolbox of the Ruby computer language.

Hashrocket, like many other web developers, has embraced Ruby on Rails due to its ease of use and generally loose intellectual property rights. The application is open to programmers and the code or “script” is commonly shared with industry insiders usually on for free.

Hashrocket CEO Marian Phelan said the high participation in the conference demonstrates that Ruby on Rails developers are evolving into the next generation of computer designers. Beyond the industry insider sharing of information, Phelan said the real business angle is for potential employment with companies who are ready to hire.

“There’s a huge shortage of developers in Ruby on Rails,” Phelan said Tuesday. “The companies that come to us, they come to us because they can’t hire their own team first of all. … We’ll help them build that team, but we find it really hard to find the talent for them to hire. But it’s a tremendous career opportunity for people who are interested in [developing] this software.”

Hashrocket Senior Developer Paul Elliott said although Ruby on Rails already has had an impact on major websites, it’s going to be the accepted language of in the evolution of Internet site development.

“The startup community worldwide has really embraced Ruby on Rails,” Elliott said. “It’s definitely been embraced by the new generation of developers. There’s a lot of people that Ruby on Rails is the first platform that they’ve used. There are lots of boot camps and things all over the country and apprentice programs to help people learn Ruby.”

Andrew Duane is a member of that new generation of computer developers who exclusively uses Ruby on Rails for website development. He’s a member of a group of a half dozen developers at Bear Den Designs in Jacksonville.

Duane said he didn’t hesitate to pay the $300 registration fee.

“This is a big opportunity for First Coast web developers to be able to network with some of the [Ruby] community at large from other areas,” Duane said. “You read these names, and they’re big names. … You realize this [speaker] is that person whose blog you’re reading. You can meet them and thank them or tell them that you think they’re wrong.”

If the Ancient City Ruby conference gains traction for the First Coast technology community, Duane said it will only prove what many computer developers here already know.

“I’m hoping that there is a good showing,” he said, “to where it’s proof that more things can happen on the East Coast.”

Drew Dixon: (904) 359-4098

WHAT IS RUBY?

A computer language or “code” that was developed about 20 years ago. It coincided with the rise of Internet expansion. Think of computer “languages” such as Fortran and Cobalt that preceded Ruby in the 1980s.

WHAT IS RUBY ON RAILS?

It’s an offshoot of Ruby developed within the past decade as a website application that allows for easy use. Ruby on Rails is an “open-source code,” meaning it’s accessible to developers leading to robust collaboration with loose and free licensing. It leads to website development with an emphasis on communal online sharing of concepts. Think of Ruby on Rails as the train communicating the web imagery and messages; the original Ruby platform is the track.

WHAT’S THE IMPACT?

Much of website development, especially for businesses, is moving to this application. Computer development firms cannot keep up with demand and are seeking to hire more Ruby on Rails developers than are currently available.